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LGBTQ - An ad calling for the execution of gay people is reportedly running on X, according to the political watchdog account @EyesOnTheRight. The alleged ad comes as big-name advertisers flee the social media platform amid rising hate content allowed by X’s owner, transphobic billionaire Elon Musk.
“England and all 13 colonies had the death penalty on the table for gay sex among males,” the ad reads. “After 1789, homosexual acts were illegal in all 50 states until 1962.”
The ad — allegedly run by anti-gay Christian John White (aka. @befaithful10) — references Leviticus 20:13, a violently anti-gay Bible verse. It displays a digitally altered image of a man twerking in briefs in front of kids and links to a 1,770-word post, published by White on April 1.
“In 2015 gay marriage became a national reality,” the post reads. “Why have [Christians] forsaken God’s law and the ways of our fathers? Today, countless tens of thousands of lives are being wrecked as a result, breasts cut off, genitals mutilated.”
In reality, several Christian denominations embrace LGBTQ+ people, and 97% of transgender people who undergo gender-affirming surgery express increased satisfaction with their lives. Transphobes sensationalized such surgeries to inspire horror and disgust against trans people and their allies.
“We should love men who commit homosexual acts. They need Christ. But all Christians should vehemently oppose the legality of homosexual acts,” White’s post continues. He then references attendees of a 2023 New York City drag parade chanting, “We are coming for your children” — a slogan that some attendees repeated in mockery of right-wing “groomer” panic. Other parade attendees openly criticized the chant as harmful and counterproductive.
“Their agenda is no secret,” White’s post continues. “And they have been wildly successful. Yet God answers this abomination in His law if we will but believe it and call for it in our land.”
Numerous commenters on X noted that the images in White’s alleged ad and post are often re-circulated by anti-gay media. One of the images was reportedly digitally fabricated to make it seem like a gay adult man wore briefs in front of children.
X’s “hateful conduct” policies state that users “may not directly attack other people on the basis of … sexual orientation [and] … gender identity.” It adds, “We prohibit targeting individuals or groups with content that references forms of violence or violent events where a protected category was the primary target or victims, where the intent is to harass.”
LGBTQ Nation contacted X for comment. X’s auto reply email to the press inquiry said, “Busy now, please check back later.”
Since Musk bought X (formerly Twitter) for $44 billion in October 2022, hate content has proliferated on the site. Musk himself reinstated numerous right-wing, anti-LGBTQ+, and neo-Nazi accounts that had previously been banned from the platform. He has also repeated transphobic talking points and neo-Nazi conspiracy theories like the “Great Replacement Theory,” causing big-name advertisers to flee. The site’s ad revenue has decreased by 50% and it may lose another $75 million as advertisers stay away. Musk has responded by telling advertisers to “f**k off” and suing watchdog organizations that have reported on X’s hate speech problem.
Five of the accounts most responsible for pushing anti-LGBTQ+ “groomer” attacks on X generated up to $6.4 million per year for X in ad revenues, according to a March 2023 report from the Center for Countering Digital Hate.
The “About” page on White’s website, Call Of The Church, reads: “My wife and I have homeschooled for nearly 20 years, not to escape from culture but as a way to disciple our children and give them a clear vision of God’s Kingdom – His justice, wisdom and salvation – coming to the earth in the New Covenant.”
(Daniel Villarreal is a longtime journalist, webmaster of DanielVillarrealWrites.com and an educator who has written for Queerty, The Seattle Stranger, Vox, Slate and many other publications. He is also the founder of QueerBomb Dallas, an annual non-corporate Pride event; CinéWilde, the nation's longest running monthly LGBTQ film series. This article was first featured on LGBTQnation.com.)
